Apparatus for wet treatment of a continuous wide strip of fabric



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 22,'1953 c. G; HANHART APPARATUS FOR WET TREATMENT OF' A CONTINUOUS WIDE STRIP OF' FABRIC Filed Feb. 26. 1948 Dec. 22, 1953 C. G. HANHART APPARATUS F'OR WET TREATMENT OF' A CONTINUOUS WIDE STRIP OF FABRIC 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1948 INVENTOR.

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Patented Dec. 2.2, 1953 APPARATUS FOR WET TREATMENT OF A CONTINUOUS WIDE STRIP F FAIZSRIC.r

Carl Gustav Hanhart, Thalwil, Zurich,

Switzerland Application February 26, 1948, Serial No. 1,1146

In Switzerland October 30, 19,46

Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires October 30, 1966 Claims l The invention relates to an apparatus for the. continuous wet treatment of wide strips of woven material, particularly I for acid treatment and Washing of woven silk fabrics.

The apparatus according to the invention comprises means for controlling the movement of the Strip of fabric into the treating bath by means of jets of the treating liquid. The container in which the treatment is performed comprises an inlet portion formed by a partition which is movable for changing the iiguration of the inlet portion, the. strip of fabric being guided into the inlet portion by the aforementioned jets. Additional guiding elements are arranged in the container by which the strip is guided While it moves through and out of the bath.

Further features of the invention will appear from the appended claims, the description and the accompanying drawing, in which a constructional example of the arrangement for carrying out. the method is illustrated purely by way of example.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the inlet portion of the apparatus according to the invention, the section being made along line I--I of Figure Ll.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the complete apparatus, the section being also made along line I-I of Figure l and lcertain parts be-V ing shown in a different operating position.

Figure 3 shows a modified form of the delivery end of the apparatus, also in section on line ITI of Figure 4.

Figure 4 is a part transverse sectional View taken along line IV-IV of Figure 3.

Like parts are designated by like numerals in all figures of the drawings.

In the illustrated constructional form of the apparatus, a strip of fabric is fed to a trough or container 2 from a roller or reel 3 and is deposited by two rows of jets 410i, 4b between an end Awall 2a of the container and a partition 5 on the surface of the bath, on which it is' held in more or less pronounced folded conditionyas is shown in Figure l, or fills the available space be.- tween the partition 5 and the rear wall of the container 2d to a desired depth as shownk in Fig. 2. Air included in the fabric prevents undesiredl quick sinking thereof into the bath. If the jets 4a and 4b are stationary, the materialA will arrange itself freely in the inlet portion of the container. Feeding of the material into the container can be controlled by moving the jets, i. e. by changing their direction, whereby more uniform folds are formed, as illustrated diagramvlarly suitable.

matically in Figure 2, and the strip is folded and deposited layer upon layer until a desired length has been inserted in the bath.

Suspension of openeweave and heavy fabrics may be assisted by a light, grate-like support 6 (Figure l).

The jets are produced by holes in the walls of pipes 8a and 8b, which holes are located close together. The tubes 3a, 8b rotatably mounted in stufling boxes 9a, h Vs0. that the direction of the jets ila, tb can be changed. The jets are so directed and adjusted so that the jets emerging from different tubes intersect on a common line across the strip of fabric and hold ,the strip of fabric in a desired position. Tubes 8a and Sb are provided with levers ia, lo, respectively, which are preferably coupled by a rod I il, so that the tubes are rotated simultaneously. This common drive 0f the two tubes swivels them in a definite ratio so that the two rows of jets 55a, ib place the strip of Afabric in orderly folds, as diagrammatically shown in Figure 2.

The partition member 5 by which the container 2 is divided into an inlet chamber and a main bathv chamber, as well as the guide members il, I8, and i9 consist 0f a material whose physical structure facilitates the wet sliding treatment of the strip of fabric, i. e. the material is capable of being polished and wetted. To this end and to per-mit unhindered observa-tion of the strip of fabric, plate glass has been found to be particu- The partition 5 is secured to a frame Il. The latter is secured by means of .a pivot l2 and a clamping plate i3V to a support lll. The support I4 canY be displaced on the lateral wall of the container and fixed in the desir-ed position by means of a screw lever l5.

The strip of fabric is drawn yby means of a roller 3a through the bath around a convexly curved edge I6 of the partition 5, and past convexly curved edges of guide members il, it, I9. Before reaching the roller 3a, the fabric is again subjected to the action of a row of jets lo which liss arianged immediately above the guide mem- The guide member 5B is adjustable in the horizontal direction, so that when the strip of fabric deviates from its central position it can be returned into this position.

The adjustment of the guide member i8 for correcting deviations of the fabric from the central position may be effected manually or auto,- matically. For this purpose the guide member i8 is secured to a holder 2e and is adapted to be swung horizontally about a pivot 2i secured 3 to a beam 22 by manipulation of a handle 25. The latter is pivoted to a side Wall of container` 2 and has an arm fulcrumed to one end of a control rod 24, the other end of which is made fast to a bracket 23 which is movably connected with holder 20 by a pin 23.

As has been mentioned, the correction may also be effected automatically by pivoting a lever 21 having two arms of equal length to a bracket 21' mounted on beam 22 which is supported by a side wall of container 2. The free ends of lever 21 are provided with buckets 21a extending beyond the sides of the strip of fabric (Figures 3 and 4) and adapted to receive the jets of liquid 4c beyond the lateral edges of the strip of fabric and to swing lever 21 by the impact and the weight of the liquid forming the jets. For example, if the fabric deviates from its central position to the left (Figure 4), it covers more jets 4c at the left end of the balance beam or lever 21 than at the right end of the lever (not shown). In this way, the balance beam 21 is tilted somewhat and its movement is transmitted by a rod 28 to the control rod 24. A conventional power amplifier 26 may be interposed between rods 28 and 24 to amplify the rather weak impulses produced by the jets 4c on lever 21. The amplifier 26 is not illustrated as it does not form part of the present invention. A clockwise movement of lever 21 moves rods 28 and 24 to the left and rocks the left-hand side of the guiding element I8 in the forward direction i. e. out of the plane of Fig. 4, which causes the strip of fabric to slip back to the right into the central position.

I claim:

l. An apparatus for wet sliding treatment of a continuous wide strip of fabric with a liquid, comprising a container having an inlet portion for continuously receiving the fabric and having an outlet portion from which the fabric is adapted to be continuously withdrawn, substantially flat guide members disposed in said container, the planes of said members extending substantially transversely to the direction of movement of the fabric in the container and intersecting the fabric, said members individually having a guide edge portion in sliding contact with and diverting the course of the fabric as it moves through the container and being convexly curved in the plane of its member and to- Ward the fabric for bending and spreading the fabric transversely to its direction of movement, one of said members being pivotally mounted in said container and rockable in its plane about al fulcrum disposed on the center line of the con- Vex curvature of said edge portion, and actuating means disposed outside of said container and connected with said rockable member for moving it about its fulcrum.

2. An apparatus for wet sliding treatment of a continuous wide strip of fabric with a liquid, comprising a container having an inlet portion for continuously receiving the fabric and having an outlet portion from which the fabric is Yadapted to be continuously withdrawn, substantially at guide members disposed in said container, the planes of said members extending substantially transversely to the direction of movement of the fabric in the container and intersecting the fabric, said members individually having a guide edge portion in sliding contact with and diverting the course of the fabric as it moves through the container and being convexly curved in the plane of its member and toward the fabric for bending and spreading the fabric transversely to its direction of movement, one of said members forming a partition separating said inlet portion from the rest of the container and being swingably mounted on said container for changing the configuration ofV said inlet portion.

3. An apparatus for wet sliding treatment of a continuous wide strip of fabric with a liquid, comprising a container having an inlet portion for continuously receiving the fabric and having an outlet portion from which the fabric is adapted to be continuously withdrawn, substantially flat guide members disposed in said container, the planes of said members extending substantially transversely to the direction of movement of the fabric in the container and intersecting the fabric, said members individually having a guide edge portion in sliding contact with and diverting the course of the fabric as it moves through the container and being convexly curved in the plane of its member and toward the fabric for bending and spreading the fabric transversely to its direction of movement, one of said members forming a partition separating said inlet portion from the rest of the container and being mounted on said container swingable about an axis substantially parallel to its guide edge portion for changing the configuration of said inlet portion.

fl. An apparatus for wet sliding treatment of a continuous wide strip of fabric with a liquid, comprising a container having an inlet portion for continuously receiving the fabric and having an outlet portion from which the fabric is adapted to be continuously withdrawn, substantially flat guide members disposed in said container, the planes of said members extending substant-ially transversely to the direction of movement of the fabric in the container and intersecting the fabric, said members individually having a guide edge portion in sliding contact with and diverting the course of the fabric as it moves through the container and being convexly curved in the plane of its member and toward the fabric for bending and spreading the fabric transversely to its direction of movement, one of said members forming a partition separating said inlet portion from the rest of the container, and support means displaceably mounted on said container and supporting said last mentioned member swingably about an axis substantially parallel to its guide edge portion for changing the configuration of said inlet portion. i

5, An apparatus for wet sliding treatment of a continuous wide strip of fabric with a liquid, comprising a container having an inlet portion for continuously receiving the fabric and having an outlet portion from which the fabric is adapted to be continuously withdrawn, substantially flat guide members disposed in said container, the planes of said members extending substantially transversely to the direction of movement of the fabric in the container and intersecting the fabric, said members individually having a guide edge portion in sliding contact with and diverting the course of the fabric as it moves through the container and being convexly curved in the planev of its member and toward the fabric for bending and spreading the fabric transversely to its direction of movement, one of said members being pivotally mounted in said container and rockable in its plane about a fulcrum disposed on the center line of the convex curvature of said edge portion, a row of nozzles mounted on said container, said row extending substantially parallel to the fabric and transversely to the direction of its movement, said row being longer than the Width of the fabric and extending beyond both lateral edges of the fabric, said nozzles being adapted to discharge jets of treating liquid toward the Yfabric and past its lateral edges, a control lever swingably connected with said container and having two arms of equal length, a bucket means connected with the free end of each arm, said bucket means being adapted to receive the jets of liquid beyond the lateral edges of the fabric and to swing said lever by the impact and the weight of the liquid forming the jets, and means connecting said control lever and said rockable member for transmitting the motion of the former to the latter.

CARL GUSTAV HANHART.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS V Number Number Number 20 185,654

6 Name Date Riley June 10, 1884 Corron Oct. 4, 1887 Leonhard July 4, 1893 Herminghaus Oct. 17, 1905 Mathesius May 20, 1913 Gantt Sept. 30, 1913 Rowe Oct. 26, 1920 Voegeli Sept. 7, 1926 Berg Sept. 4, 1928 Lyth June 11, 1929 Lyth Oct. 15, 1929 Coryell Oct. 12, 1937 Nai Aug. 6, 1940 Hilliard Jan. 19, 1943 Spangler Feb. 20, 1945 Belcher June 28, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland Aug. 15, 1936 

